December, 2019 Readings: "December drops no weak, relenting tear..." C. Cranch

Last month of the year and I've read 92 books up 'til now.

Still a few to go before I hit the magic 100, so I'll really have to bear down, especially since we'll have family staying with us for at least a week.

How are everyone else's numbers this year?

I've read 100 so far.

Finished UTOPIA FOR REALISTS, by Rutger Bregman.

Bregman was the chap who crashed the economic forum at Davos and told the wealthy plutocrats they should be taxed at a far higher level.

Then he compounded his sin by taking on Tucker Carlson, a Fox News git, reducing him to a frothing rage, his segment eliminated (but miraculously preserved thanks to a cell phone).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_nFI2Zb7qE

I highly recommended Bregman's book, it's a terrific antidote to the now discredited Chicago School of Economics that has held sway so long.

Well, I'm afraid I come out as rather lightweight, with a count of only 30 so far this year. Mind you, that's the most I've read since I started keeping records in 2015...

Robert, to me, reading is research--constantly seeking authors who have something to teach me (the bad ones show me how NOT to do something).

I try for the "100 Book Club" every year but in 2018 I crashed out at something like 66 (too many podcasts and our first year of Netflix).

It's always a thrill to discover a good author I hadn't encountered before.

I'm sure you know the feeling.

>4 RobertDay:, I'm in the same club, and you're ahead of me so kudos.

I'm at 23 books right now. I have 3 books going at the moment so maybe I'll finish at 25 or 26.

As of right now, I'm at 160 books. Somewhat behind my high point a few years ago, but I've had a lot going on that kept me from reading as much as I like.

The Prisoner Of Heaven – Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Audiobook performed by Peter Kenny
3***

Book three in the Cemetery of Forgotten Books series.

Just before Christmas 1957 a mysterious stranger appears in Barcelona’s Sempere bookshop. He knows much more than he lets on but it’s clear he poses a threat to Fermin Romero del Torres. Fermin is about to be married and the secrets the stranger threatens to reveal will destroy him. Daniel pledges to help but first he must understand the events of 1940s Barcelona during the Franco regime.

Oh, I love Zafón’s writing! The book is very atmospheric; I can feel the chill of a wintery wind, smell the candlewax and dust, practically taste the delicacies offered at 7 Portes restaurant (a dining establishment I have, in fact, visited in real life), or feel the pain of blows inflicted by a ruthless prison guard.

There are twists and turns and changes in time line that confuse, obfuscate, tease the reader and illuminate the plot. I caught references that helped tie in the first two books, though, in fact, any of them can be read as a stand alone novel, and they do not need to be read in any particular order.

Peter Kenny did a fine job of narrating the audiobook. He had many characters to deal with and managed to give them sufficiently unique voices to differentiate them. HOWEVER, he chose to use British accents for everyone and that drove me nuts. The book is Spanish, the characters are Spanish, NONE of them should have a Cockney accent! Lost a star there.

Only 78 so far. I can see by the monthly breakdown that the sailing months had pretty low numbers.

THE LUNATIC, a poetry collection by the great Charles Simic. Despite the brevity of most of the poems, there's a lot packed into this collection. It is entrancing, befuddling, intoxicating.

In other words, poetry at its best.

The Game of Silence – Louise Erdrich
Digital audiobook performed by Anna Fields.
4****

Book two in the Birchbark House series which is about an Ojibwa tribe’s life on their island in Lake Superior in the mid-19th century. Omakayas is the young girl who narrates this book, which chronicles a year on the island that is today known as Madeline Island.

I love how Erdrich depicts these people and their way of life. Not everything is pleasant or easy, but there is room for joy and happiness, for children to explore and learn. I loved the various adventures (and misadventures) Omakayas, her younger brother Pinch and cousin Two Strike, a girl who is every bit as strong and fierce as any boy her age, get into. It is two years after book one, and Omakayas is growing up. At age nine she has more responsibility to help with the necessary tasks of tribal living. Her intelligence, courage and spirit are recognized by the elders, and her friendship with a white girl, whom she calls “the Break Apart Girl” because of her tightly corseted waist, will be important to them all as they face the changes to their way of life.


Erdrich is a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwa, and she spoke to various Ojibwa elders about the significance of Madeline Island. Events depicted are historically accurate. The text version includes Erdrich’s pencil drawing illustrations. I definitely will continue reading this series.

Anna Fields does a marvelous job narrating the audiobook. She sets a good pace and her diction is clear enough that even younger children will not have trouble following the story.

A WOLF AT THE TABLE by Augusten Burroughs.

I am wary of contemporary "memoirs". They seem to contain all the trappings of fiction, while applying a thin veneer of realism for sheer "authenticity".

It's like when you see a movie that boasts: "Based on a true story". Do you really believe that?

Found Burroughs' account of his childhood unconvincing, contrived and annoying.

Off to the local thrift shop it goes...

Just finished Iain Banks' Dead Air, which I found to be one of the funniest of Banksie's mainstream novels - partly because I had a very clear visualisation of the central charatcer, Ken Nott, the expat Scots London radio shock-Jock, as Banks himself.

Ordinary Life– Elizabeth Berg
Digital audiobook narrated by Laura Hicks.
4****

This is a collection of short stories exploring the role of women and their relationships in contemporary America.

Berg writes wonderfully about these women. I understand their frustrations and share their hopes, empathize with their pain and disappointments, and celebrate their triumphs and joys. There are moments that are laugh-out-loud funny, and moments that quiet my soul and cause me to reflect. Some scenes are almost unbearably tender, and a few made me feel uncomfortably like a voyeur.

Her characters are familiar; we all know (or actually are) women like this. Their lives may be “ordinary” … the stories, and this collection, are NOT.

I could not help but think of my late friend Sally, who first introduced me to Berg years ago. I can picture her sitting on my patio during book club and exclaiming, “You haven’t read Elizabeth Berg!?!” Thank you, my friend; I miss your recommendations, but at least I have plenty more of Elizabeth Berg’s books to read.

The audiobook is performed by Laura Hicks, who does a marvelous job. She really brings these characters to life.

Finished 2 books in the last few days:

THE MOON: A HISTORY FOR THE FUTURE by Oliver Morton--authoritative but somewhat bloodless, could've used more "sensawunda". More Chesley Bonestell, less on the hard science.

DESCENDER (graphic novel) By Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen--not a graphic novel fan but this one at least engages; the story a bit familiar but the artwork impressive.

Wrapped up A MEMORY CALLED EMPIRE, an enjoyable space opera by Arkady Martine.

Political intrigue that spans a galaxy, the threat of war omnipresent, only one, inexperienced diplomat can save the day.

Fun and certainly not stupid. Good world-building.

>17 CliffBurns:, instance of a successful first novel too, I'm given to understand.

Finished book #100 of 2019 last night.

THE EMERALD LIGHT IN THE AIR is a remarkable collection of stories by legendary American author Donald Antrim.

Funny, sad, literate, original.

Usually known for his challenging novels, these stories are a good gateway to Antrim's odd oeuvre.

Highly recommended.

Finished The Name of the Rose. Some sections felt a little bit Scooby Doo, but overall very very entertaining and intellectually stimulating. Made me very curious about that period, and about the Franciscans.
Finished Holy Fire: Nine Visionary Poets and the Quest for Enlightenment by Daniel Halpern. The selection for Rumi, Lalla, and Mirabai is brilliant. The rest is kinda meh.
Just started The Travels of Ibn Battuta. A kind of a Marco Polo from Tangiers who traveled for 29 years during the 14th century. It's kind of breezy. Lots of anecdotes and digressions. Some more interesting than others.

Nice. I havent come across a good Ibn Battuta copy worth buying yet. I know theres Ebay but I like the thrill of lucky finds.

I'm listening to the audiobook version. A map would be helpful.

Finished The Travels of Ibn Battuta and started Grant by Ron Chernow. The first few chapters have been magisterial.
Also started A Little Larger than the Entire Universe, Pessoa poems translated by Richard Zenith.

>23 mejix: Grant was one of my favorites. Chernow writes better about Grant than Grant!

This is my first Chernow. I'm very impressed.
I'm just glad the war is going to start. Pre-war Ulysses was just too sad.

Very slow in getting around to this, but just before Christmas, I blew through William Gaddis's The Recognitions. Amazing. This evening, I finished La Folie Baudelaire; as is usual, Roberto Calasso did not disappoint. Now I'm on to Simon Garfield's To the Letter, which is grand so far.

The Fact of a Body – Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich
Digital audiobook read by the author.
5*****

From the book jacket: Before Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich begins a summer internship in Louisiana, working to help defend men accused of murder, she thinks her position is clear. The child of two lawyers, Alexandria is staunchly anti-death penalty. But the moment convicted murderer Ricky Langley’s face flashes on the screen as she reviews an old tape – the moment she hears him speak of his crimes – she is overcome with the feeling of wanting him to die. Shocked by her reaction, after she graduates from law school she begins digging deeper into the case. Despite their vastly different circumstances, something in his story is unsettlingly, uncannily familiar.

My reactions:
Wow. I was completely mesmerized by this memoir / true crime work. Marzano-Lesnevich puts me right into the narrative and I feel invested in both her story and that of convicted murderer, and pedophile, Ricky Langley. I totally understand her compulsion to research Langley’s case, and marvel at the strength of character shown by the author and by Langley. Yes, by Langley.

Here is a man who knew he had a problem and begged – repeatedly – for help. And here is evidence that was overlooked or flatly ignored. Questions that remained unanswered. And a jury’s decision that was perplexing. And here is an author who faced her own history, peeled back the layers of secrecy and denial to confront her own past.

Marzano-Lesnevich narrated the audiobook herself. I cannot imagine anyone else doing a better job.

Managed to squeeze in one more book (#102) in 2019, Kevin Barry's NIGHT BOAT TO TANGIER.

At the Spanish port of Algeciras, two old Irish hoodlums are waiting, not for Godot, but for a glimpse of an estranged daughter.

Meanwhile, they reflect on their long, storied history together, the good times and the bad.

Loved the rhythm of the book and the use of language.

I can see why it was shortlisted for prizes and "Best ofs" on both sides of the pond.

Recommended.